The three monotheistic faiths – Judaism, Christianity
and Islam – ultimately hold that ethical obligations are derived
from Divine commands and instructions revealed through or dictated
to a divine intermediary or a messenger and set down in sacred
scripture.

In Judaism, God’s will is revealed in the law given through Moses
at Mount Sinai. These instructions covered virtually every aspect of
life: social, legal, dietary, economic, sexual, ritual, etc. As
situations and circumstances arose that were not anticipated by
these divine commands, Judaism came to rely on interpretations and
traditions that developed in the Oral Torah or Talmud.

In Christianity, Jesus is considered the divine intermediary who
brings a new set of laws by which his followers are to live. Like
other rabbis, Jesus sought to summarize the complex laws of the
Hebrew scriptures in simple terms. The Gospel of Matthew portrays
Jesus as a “second Moses” who goes up on a mountain and delivers an
ethics of divine command to the faithful who are gathered below
(Matthew 5-7). In spite of these divine commands, the early church
quickly encountered new situations that required interpretation and
application. Thus, we see the church struggling to apply these
ethics throughout the Book of Acts

In Islam, Muhammad is the messenger to whom Allah through the
archangel Gabriel dictates the Qur’an. Nevertheless, Islam
actually exemplifies an ethics of divine command based on a
tradition of legal-ethical commentary. Mortals cannot know every
aspect of God’s Law (Shari’a); rather we can only have
limited insight (fiqh) into the Divine Law. Although
the Divine Law does not change, insights may differ. Consequently,
in Sunni Islam, it is held that no ruling/insight can be an
infallible statement of Divine Law. Differences were accepted and
tolerated to the point that all rules derived by Jurists from
careful consideration were considered equally valid.

Over time, four sources for the Divine Law were recognized

The Qur’an itself

The customs or traditions (sunna) of the prophet, like the
Qur'an were considered divinely inspired.

In popular thought jihad is often referred to a "Holy War."
Broadly speaking, however, jihad refers to the exertion of one’s
religious effort especially in the spread of belief in Allah and
Islam throughout the world. According to most Muslim jurists, this
jihad is more than zealous missionary activity. It also includes the
duty of military actions against unbelievers. Differences of
interpretation arise from the fact that in some places the Qur’an
implies that jihad is an unconditional command to permanent war
against unbelievers; in other places, jihad can only be in response
to a clear threat to the faith or to Islamic countries.
Consequently, some embrace a militant, aggressive interpretation of
jihad while others hold to the view that the jihad must be defensive
warfare against those who have invaded Islamic territory for
political gain. Still others have spiritualized the concept of jihad
and argued that the term simply means to strive and exert oneself
fully in being a faithful Muslim. Thus, in spite of the fact that
ethics have their source from the divine command, different
interpretations of that command have been set forth.